The story of Golconda Blue, and of India's once-legendary diamonds in Golconda

Indian Express

30-04-2025

Christie's has pulled the 23.24 carat Golconda Blue, 'the largest Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond ever to be offered at auction' after 'the owners…made the decision to pursue a sale of the diamond to a family member'.
The diamond, according to the British auction house 'among the rarest and most important…ever discovered throughout history', had been expected to fetch $35 million to $50 million at an auction in Geneva on May 14.
Diamonds, the hardest of naturally occurring substances, are composed entirely of carbon, and formed under great heat and pressure below the Earth's surface. Their rarity, difficulty in extracting them, and the skill required to cut and polish them for jewellery, have historically made diamonds exclusive and expensive.
What is the Golconda Blue?
According to Christie's, the blue diamond belonged to Yeshwant Rao Holkar (1908-62), the Maharaja of Indore, who, along with his wife Sanyogitabai Devi, often collected paintings, jewellery, and other fine goods in Europe.
In 1923, Yeshwant Rao's father visited the French luxury jewellery company Chaumet to commission a diamond bracelet set with the 23-carat, pear-shaped Golconda Blue. A decade later, Yeshwant Rao commissioned the French brand Mauboussin to set the gem in a necklace that was later worn by his wife.
In 1947, the American jeweller Harry Winston bought the blue diamond, sold it briefly to the Maharaja of Baroda, reacquired it, and sold it to the current owner, whom Christie's did not name.
The gems of India
Rahul Kadakia, Christie's International Head of Jewellery, listed other Golconda diamonds auctioned by them, such as the 78.54 carat Archduke Joseph. Some of the world's most famous diamonds, such as the Koh-i-Noor and the pale pink Darya-i-Nur, were mined in Golconda.
According to Christie's, the West's enduring fascination with diamonds began after Alexander brought back the gems to Europe from India in 327 BC. The Venetian Marco Polo wrote in 1292: 'No country but India produces diamonds. Those which are brought to our part of the world are only the refuse, as it were, of the finer and larger stones… In truth they (India) possess all the treasures of the world.'
In his book, Diamonds: An Early History of the King of Gems (2018), the British jewellery historian Jack Ogden wrote that until the 1600s, India was by far the most important, if not the only, source of diamonds for the Mediterranean and European worlds. It is difficult to ascertain the exact date when the Golconda trade began, but there are records of Chinese, Filipino, Arab, and Jewish traders looking to India for the gems.
Indian diamond markets included Ahmedabad and Goa, and although the stone was also mined in places such as the Panna diamond belt in Madhya Pradesh, Golconda remained the major trading centre, mentioned by travellers throughout history.
The French merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-89) wrote that diamond mining in the Golconda district grew at an explosive rate in the mid-17th century. At the Kollur mine, 60,000 diggers and washers were employed.
The French traveller Jean de Thévenot (1633-77) noted there was no uniformity in diamond prices, and the king at the time established a monopoly in mining.
'The French Catholic physician Gabriel Dellon, who traveled to India in the late 1660s, noted, 'Suratte (Surat) is a place of great Commerce; Their Diamonds are brought thither out of the Kingdom of Golconda',' Ogden wrote.
Dimming allure
The discovery of diamonds in Brazil in the 18th century eclipsed India's industry,
Ogden wrote. 'It is noted that the output of Indian diamonds in the century or so prior to the discovery of the diamonds in Brazil has been estimated at anything between about 5,000 and 50,000 carats a year. The 1731 fleet from Brazil to Portugal is supposed to have carried no less than 100,000 carats; two years later it was 300,000,' he said.
Today, Africa, Australia, and Russia are some of the key players in the diamond industry. In the world of jewellery, gold is seen as a better alternative with value as a long-term investment. 'Blood diamonds', mined in conflict zones or using child labour, have dimmed their shine. Lab-grown diamonds have emerged as a cheaper and more ethical alternative.
And yet, as Christie's noted: 'It is Golconda diamonds — with their incomparable quality, mystery and romance, sought by royal houses all over the world — which still reign supreme among gem connoisseurs.'